Getting to Know the Incident Command Team

Valparaiso University’s Incident Command Team (ICT) is a cross-functional, campuswide group that is responsible for health and safety policies and procedures across campus. While the team has existed for some time to manage crisis planning for a variety of potential scenarios, for the past several months it has focused primarily on mitigating the spread of COVID-19 on campus and protecting all Valparaiso University students, faculty, staff, and campus visitors.

During the first week of March, the ICT was activated to develop a comprehensive operations plan for each stage of the University’s response to the global pandemic. Since then, the team’s core group of section chiefs has continued to meet daily, including weekends, as the situation has evolved. (The core group includes: Rick AmRhein, vice president for community and government relations and chief of staff; Becky Walkowiak, chief of the Valparaiso University Police Department; Chuck Garber, assistant chief of the Valparaiso University Police Department; Ryan Blevins, associate dean for student life; Kelley Eshenaur, director of the Health Center; Scott Harrison, executive director and chief human resource officer; Tristan Leonhard, director of recreational sports and assistant director of athletics; and Jason Kutch, executive director of facilities.)

As it has for individuals and organizations around the world, the novel coronavirus brought unprecedented challenges to Valparaiso University and higher education nationwide. With an entirely new predicament and no established playbook, the ICT worked diligently to develop overarching principles to address the situation, offering core guidelines to refer back to as nuances emerge.

To aid this effort, the ICT has worked closely with local and state public health officials. Kelley Eshenaur is the University’s liaison with the Porter County Health Department and has established a reciprocal information-sharing relationship that has been invaluable. Additionally, members of the ICT meet weekly with representatives from member institutions of the Independent Colleges of Indiana. Through these meetings, they are able to review best practices, discuss emerging issues and concerns, strategize, and adjust plans accordingly.

Based on information from these sources, as well as guidelines from the State of Indiana and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the ICT is able to develop health and safety policies and procedures. The group also has liaisons on the University’s Academic Affairs and Student Life scenario planning groups, which look at national standards for their areas and apply the established policies and procedures to specific concerns within academics and student life. Each of these planning groups has a representative who joins the full ICT during biweekly meetings to review updates, ask questions, and discuss any potential concerns.

The ICT is also tracking numerous metrics to monitor the health and safety of the campus community and inform decision-making. The contact tracing team — Ryan Blevins and Kelley Eshenaur for students and Chuck Garber and Scott Harrison for faculty and staff — meets daily and has been trained and certified through Johns Hopkins University, the national standard for contact tracing. A member of this group will conduct an interview with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 or had direct contact with someone who has tested positive or has symptoms of COVID-19. After this initial interview, the University’s contact tracing team shares data with the county health department, which is responsible for reporting positive cases to the state.

As plans continue to evolve, information will be shared through a variety of communication vehicles and will be published on the Looking Forward website. Please email covid19info@valpo.edu if you have any questions related COVID-19, the University’s response, and how we are working daily to keep the campus community safe.

INCIDENT COMMAND TEAM